Please understand that I am not judging anyone or trying to shame you into buying anything. I’m only commenting on people who bring up race when complaining about prices.

When Pat McGrath first began releasing her limited edition pigments and glitter lip kits, I admired them, but never bought any because a) they sold out so fast and I didn’t want to stress over it, and b) they weren’t exactly cheap. If I recall, a kit with one lipstick and glitter was around $60, and I knew that I wouldn’t use it that much because I don’t have many opportunities to walk around with glitter on my lips. Such is life.

I know that there are 50-11 reviews of Fenty on YouTube, but I would be totally remiss if I didn’t write something about the brand. As someone who loves sparkle (seriously, bathe me in it), this line holds a special place in my heart. While I was initially a tad disappointed that it is not a black-owned brand (just stating facts, no shade), I love Rihanna and appreciate that they truly created a brand that has the intention to catering to everyone and making all women feel beautiful. You don’t see that often in the beauty industry (looking at you, L’Oreal), so I can give props to that. As an example, while 40 shades of foundation isn’t exactly brand new, I had never seen such diversity in the shade selector models used. I’ve never been able to match myself with a black woman (it’s usually an asian woman), and the one that seemed to match me even had freckles like me! I teared up a little. I can’t even wear the foundation (ingredients, which is a different story about the cosmetics industry and what they have us putting on their skin but anywho) and I was impressed. And so, I woke up early and headed to my Sephora at 7:45am to wait for the store to open, and I’ve been back two more times. Don’t judge me.